Heavy Snow in Eastern Strait of Juan De Fuca, Washington

A Winter Storm brought heavy snow to the northern side of the Olympic Peninsula during the last week of December. Snow was orographically enhanced, resulting in an average of 10-20 inches for locations along the East Strait of Juan de Fuca, with most of the 20 inch reports located just south of Port Angeles.

A very cold airmass pushed into Western Washington at the end of December, resulting in cold air amidst sufficient moisture and lift as a modified arctic frontal boundary slid south. This made for significant lowland and mountain snow, with a period of drier but much colder weather for the following days. Several climate sites reached record low temperatures during and shortly after the winter storm.